1. Field:
The present disclosure relates generally to aircraft and, in particular, to displaying information used to operate aircraft. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for displaying flyable areas for an aircraft.
2. Background:
Information used to fly an aircraft may be displayed on a display system in the aircraft. This display system may be, for example, a navigation display or an electronic flight bag (EFB) display. An aeronautical chart showing terrain around the aircraft may be displayed on the navigation display.
Additionally, other information also may be displayed on the navigation display. This information may include, for example, without limitation, information about air traffic, flight paths of air traffic, and other suitable information.
The operator may use this information along with other information from other sources to operate the aircraft. For example, the operator may use fuel usage or estimates of fuel usage from a flight management system along with information about weather and traffic shown on the navigation display to determine whether sufficient reserve fuel is present to reach a target airport or whether the foreseen workload due to traffic is acceptable and manageable by the flight crew. If reserve fuel levels are not sufficient, the operator may use the navigation display to identify alternative airports that can be reached with a desired level of reserve fuel.
Further, the navigation display may also be used by the operator to identify weather conditions that may require changes to the flight plan for the aircraft. For example, weather conditions may make landing at a target airport in the flight plan unfeasible. As a result, the operator may use the navigation display along with the weather conditions on the display to identify an alternate airport for landing.
Further, the navigation display may also be used by the operator to identify areas where a reduced workload can be estimated for operating the aircraft as desired. For example, when one crew member is impaired, the remaining crew member needs to fly the aircraft to the next airport and may want to avoid flying through congested airspace.
In another example, when equipment in the aircraft does not operate as desired, the flight crew focuses their mental workload on assessing and addressing the current situation of the aircraft. In this case, the flight crew may also desire avoiding congested airspace.
Various conditions change dynamically during the flight of an aircraft. These conditions include, for example, without limitation, weather, traffic, flight paths of traffic, and other conditions. With these changes in conditions occurring during the flight of the aircraft, an operator of the aircraft uses the information from the navigation display and the flight management system to determine whether changes in the operation of the aircraft should occur. Identifying the changes in the conditions and determining whether changes in the operation of the aircraft should occur are tasks that require time and attention of the operator.
For example, with rapidly-changing weather conditions, identifying a desirable, safe route to a target airport may be more difficult than desired due to the need to process and manage various types of information about the environment around the aircraft. In other words, the operator monitors and makes calculations as to whether the target airport can be reached with the desired reserve fuel levels, or the operator identifies an alternative airport if the target airport cannot be reached. With dynamically-changing conditions, this may be more difficult or time-consuming than desired.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that takes into account at least some of the issues discussed above as well as possibly other issues.